¹⁰ The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”

³² I want you to be ^(A)free from anxieties. ^(B)The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. ³³ But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, ³⁴ and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. ³⁵ I say this for your own benefit, ^(C)not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.

¹¹ But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when ^(A)their passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry ¹² and so incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith. ¹³ Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also ^(B)gossips and ^(C)busybodies, saying what they should not. ¹⁴ So I would have ^(D)younger widows marry, bear children, ^(E)manage their households, and ^(F)give the adversary no occasion for slander. ^15 (G)For some have already strayed after Satan.

^3 (A)who forbid marriage and ^(B)require abstinence from foods ^(C)that God created ^(D)to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

^39 (A)A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only ^(B)in the Lord. ⁴⁰ Yet ^(C)in my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think ^(D)that I too have the Spirit of God.

⁸ To the unmarried and the widows I say that ^(A)it is good for them to remain single, ^(B)as I am.

Principles for Marriage

7 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: ^(A)“It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” ² But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.