Life within marriage

7 Let me now turn to the matters you wrote about. “It is good for a man to have no sexual contact with a woman.” ² Well, yes; but the temptation to immorality means that every man should maintain sexual relations with his own wife, and every woman with her own husband. ³ The man should give his wife her marital rights, and the woman should do the same for her husband. ⁴ The woman isn’t in charge of her own body; her husband is. In the same way, the man isn’t in charge of his own body; his wife is. ⁵ Don’t deny one another, except perhaps by agreement for a period of time, so that you may have more space for prayer. But then come together again, in case the satan might tempt you because of your weakness of will.

⁶ I’m not saying this as a command, but as a concession. ⁷ I would be happy to see everyone be in the same situation as myself. But each person has his or her own gift from God, one this way, another that way.

Marriage and divorce

⁸ To unmarried people, and to widows, I have this to say: it’s perfectly all right for you to remain like me. ⁹ But if you don’t have power over your passions, then get married. Much better to marry than to have desire smoldering away inside you!