²⁶ Then God said, ^(A)“Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; ^(B)let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over ^[a]all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ So God created man ^(C)in His own image; in the image of God He created him; ^(D)male and female He created them. ²⁸ Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ^(E)“Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and ^(F)subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that ^[b]moves on the earth.”

¹⁸ And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; ^(A)I will make him a helper comparable to him.” ^19 (B)Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and ^(C)brought them to ^[a]Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

²¹ And the Lord God caused a ^(D)deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. ²² Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He ^[b]made into a woman, ^(E)and He ^(F)brought her to the man.

²³ And Adam said:

^24 (I)Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and ^(J)be^[e] joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

^25 (K)And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ^(L)ashamed.

⁴ And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who ^[a]made them at the beginning ^(A)‘made them male and female,’ ⁵ and said, ^(B)‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and ^(C)the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

The Scribes: Which Is the First Commandment of All?^(A)

^28 (B)Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, ^[a]perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the ^[b]first commandment of all?”

²⁹ Jesus answered him, “The ^[c]first of all the commandments is: ^(C)‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ And you shall ^(D)love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ^[d]This is the first commandment. ³¹ And the second, like it, is this: ^(E)‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than ^(F)these.”

Do Not Sue the Brethren

6 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the ^(A)saints? ² Do you not know that ^(B)the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? ³ Do you not know that we shall ^(C)judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? ⁴ If then you have ^[a]judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? ⁵ I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren? ⁶ But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers!

⁷ Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. ^(D)Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? ⁸ No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren! ⁹ Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. ^(E)Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor ^[b]homosexuals, nor ^[c]sodomites, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And such were ^(F)some of you. ^(G)But you were washed, but you were ^[d]sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

Glorify God in Body and Spirit

^12 (H)All things are lawful for me, but all things are not ^[e]helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of ^[f]any. ^13 (I)Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for ^(J)sexual immorality but ^(K)for the Lord, ^(L)and the Lord for the body. ¹⁴ And ^(M)God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up ^(N)by His power.

¹⁵ Do you not know that ^(O)your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! ¹⁶ Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For ^(P)“the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” ^17 (Q)But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

^18 (R)Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins ^(S)against his own body. ¹⁹ Or ^(T)do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, ^(U)and you are not your own? ²⁰ For ^(V)you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body ^[g]and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Principles of Marriage

7 Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me:

^(W)It is good for a man not to touch a woman. ² Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. ^3 (X)Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. ⁴ The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. ^5 (Y)Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that ^(Z)Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. ⁶ But I say this as a concession, ^(AA)not as a commandment. ⁷ For ^(AB)I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that.

⁸ But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: ^(AC)It is good for them if they remain even as I am; ⁹ but ^(AD)if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

Keep Your Marriage Vows

¹⁰ Now to the married I command, yet not I but the ^(AE)Lord: ^(AF)A wife is not to depart from her husband. ¹¹ But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife.

¹² But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. ¹³ And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. ¹⁴ For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise ^(AG)your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. ¹⁵ But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us ^(AH)to peace. ¹⁶ For how do you know, O wife, whether you will ^(AI)save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?

Live as You Are Called

¹⁷ But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And ^(AJ)so I ^[h]ordain in all the churches. ¹⁸ Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? ^(AK)Let him not be circumcised. ^19 (AL)Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but ^(AM)keeping the commandments of God is what matters. ²⁰ Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. ²¹ Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. ²² For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is ^(AN)the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is ^(AO)Christ’s slave. ^23 (AP)You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. ²⁴ Brethren, let each one remain with ^(AQ)God in that state in which he was called.

To the Unmarried and Widows

²⁵ Now concerning virgins: ^(AR)I have no commandment from the Lord; yet I give judgment as one ^(AS)whom the Lord in His mercy has made ^(AT)trustworthy. ²⁶ I suppose therefore that this is good because of the present distress—^(AU)that it is good for a man to remain as he is: ²⁷ Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. ²⁸ But even if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Nevertheless such will have trouble in the flesh, but I would spare you.

²⁹ But ^(AV)this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, ³⁰ those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, ³¹ and those who use this world as not ^(AW)misusing it. For ^(AX)the form of this world is passing away.

³² But I want you to be without ^[i]care. ^(AY)He who is unmarried ^[j]cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. ³³ But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife. ³⁴ There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman ^(AZ)cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. ³⁵ And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.

³⁶ But if any man thinks he is behaving improperly toward his ^[k]virgin, if she is past the flower of youth, and thus it must be, let him do what he wishes. He does not sin; let them marry. ³⁷ Nevertheless he who stands steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but has power over his own will, and has so determined in his heart that he will keep his ^[l]virgin, does well. ^38 (BA)So then he who gives ^[m]her in marriage does well, but he who does not give her in marriage does better.

^39 (BB)A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, ^(BC)only in the Lord. ⁴⁰ But she is happier if she remains as she is, ^(BD)according to my judgment—and ^(BE)I think I also have the Spirit of God.

^21 (A)submitting to one another in the fear of ^[a]God.

Marriage—Christ and the Church^(B)

²² Wives, ^(C)submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³ For ^(D)the husband is head of the wife, as also ^(E)Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. ²⁴ Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands ^(F)in everything.

^25 (G)Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and ^(H)gave Himself for her, ²⁶ that He might ^[b]sanctify and cleanse her ^(I)with the washing of water ^(J)by the word, ^27 (K)that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, ^(L)not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. ²⁸ So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. ³⁰ For ^(M)we are members of His body, ^[c]of His flesh and of His bones. ^31 (N)“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the ^(O)two shall become one flesh.” ³² This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. ³³ Nevertheless ^(P)let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she ^(Q)respects her husband.

^4 (A)Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; ^(B)but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.