¹⁸ The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”^(A)

¹⁹ Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals^(B) and all the birds in the sky.^(C) He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called^(D) each living creature,^(E) that was its name. ²⁰ So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam^[a] no suitable helper^(F) was found. ²¹ So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep;^(G) and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs^[b] and then closed up the place with flesh. ²² Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib^[c](H) he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

²³ The man said,

²⁴ That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united^(L) to his wife, and they become one flesh.^(M)

²⁵ Adam and his wife were both naked,^(N) and they felt no shame.

²⁴ Therefore God gave them over^(A) in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.^{(B) 25} They exchanged the truth about God for a lie,^(C) and worshiped and served created things^(D) rather than the Creator—who is forever praised.^(E) Amen.^(F)

²⁶ Because of this, God gave them over^(G) to shameful lusts.^(H) Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.^{(I) 27} In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.^(J)

²⁸ Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over^(K) to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,^{(L) 30} slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;^{(M) 31} they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love,^(N) no mercy. ³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death,^(O) they not only continue to do these very things but also approve^(P) of those who practice them.

Lawsuits Among Believers

6 If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people?^{(A) 2} Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world?^(B) And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? ³ Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! ⁴ Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church? ⁵ I say this to shame you.^(C) Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers?^{(D) 6} But instead, one brother^(E) takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers!^(F)

⁷ The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?^{(G) 8} Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters.^{(H) 9} Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God?^(I) Do not be deceived:^(J) Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers^(K) nor men who have sex with men^{[a](L) 10} nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers^(M) will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And that is what some of you were.^(N) But you were washed,^(O) you were sanctified,^(P) you were justified^(Q) in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Sexual Immorality

¹² “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial.^(R) “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. ¹³ You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.”^(S) The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord,^(T) and the Lord for the body. ¹⁴ By his power God raised the Lord from the dead,^(U) and he will raise us also.^{(V) 15} Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself?^(W) Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! ¹⁶ Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”^{[b](X) 17} But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.^[c](Y)

¹⁸ Flee from sexual immorality.^(Z) All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.^{(AA) 19} Do you not know that your bodies are temples^(AB) of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;^{(AC) 20} you were bought at a price.^(AD) Therefore honor God with your bodies.^(AE)