1 Corinthians 7
1 Nowe concerning the thinges whereof ye wrote vnto mee, It were good for a man not to touche a woman.
With reference to the subjects about which you wrote to me: It is good for a man to remain single.
2 Neuertheles, to auoide fornication, let euery man haue his wife, and let euery woman haue her owne husband.
But, owing to the prevalence of immorality, I advise every man to have his own wife, and every woman her husband.
3 Let the husband giue vnto the wife due beneuolence, and likewise also the wife vnto the husband.
A husband should give his wife her due, and a wife her husband.
4 The wife hath not the power of her owne bodie, but ye husband: and likewise also the husband hath not ye power of his own body, but the wife.
It is not the wife, but the husband, who exercises power over her body; and so, too, it is not the husband, but the wife, who exercises power over his body.
5 Defraude not one another, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may giue your selues to fasting and praier, and againe come together that Satan tempt you not for your incontinecie.
Do not deprive each other of what is due – unless it is only for a time and by mutual consent, so that your minds may be free for prayer until you again live as man and wife – otherwise Satan might take advantage of your want of self-control and tempt you.
6 But I speake this by permission, not by commandement.
I say this, however, as a concession, not as a command.
7 For I woulde that all men were euen as I my selfe am: but euery man hath his proper gift of God, one after this maner, and another after that.
I should wish everyone to be just what I am myself. But everyone has his own gift from God – one in one way, and one in another.
8 Therefore I say vnto the vnmaried, and vnto the widowes, It is good for them if they abide euen as I doe.
My advice, then, to those who are not married, and to widows, is this: It would be good for them to remain as I am myself.
9 But if they cannot abstaine, let them marrie: for it is better to marrie then to burne.
But, if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to be consumed with passion.
10 And vnto ye maried I comand, not I, but ye Lord, Let not ye wife depart from her husband.
To those who are married my direction is – yet it is not mine, but the Master’s – that a woman is not to leave her husband
11 But and if shee depart, let her remaine vnmaried, or be reconciled vnto her husband, and let not the husband put away his wife.
(If she has done so, she should remain as she is, or else be reconciled to her husband) and also that a man is not to divorce his wife.
12 But to ye remnant I speake, and not ye Lord, If any brother haue a wife, ye beleeueth not, if she be content to dwell with him, let him not forsake her.
To all others I say – I, not the Master – If a follower of the Lord is married to a woman, who is an unbeliever but willing to live with him, he should not divorce her;
13 And the woman which hath an husband that beleeueth not, if he be content to dwell with her, let her not forsake him.
and a woman who is married to a man, who is an unbeliever but willing to live with her, should not divorce her husband.
14 For the vnbeleeuing husband is sanctified to the wife, and the vnbeleeuing wife is sanctified to the husband, els were your children vncleane: but nowe are they holie.
For, through his wife, the husband who is an unbeliever has become associated with Christ’s people; and the wife who is an unbeliever has become associated with Christ’s people through the Lord’s follower whom she has married. Otherwise your children would be “defiled,” but, as it is, they belong to Christ’s people.
15 But if the vnbeleeuing depart, let him depart: a brother or a sister is not in subiection in such things: but God hath called vs in peace.
However, if the unbeliever wishes to be separated, let them be so. Under such circumstances neither is bound; God has called you to live in peace.
16 For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt saue thine husband? Or what knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt saue thy wife?
How can you tell, wife, whether you may not save your husband? And how can you tell, husband, whether you may not save your wife?
17 But as God hath distributed to euery man, as the Lord hath called euery one, so let him walke: and so ordaine I, in all Churches.
In any case, a person should continue to live in the condition which the Lord has allotted to them, and in which they were when God called them. This is the rule that I lay down in every church.
18 Is any man called being circumcised? let him not gather his vncircumcision: is any called vncircumcised? let him not be circumcised.
Was a man already circumcised when he was called? Then he should not efface his circumcision. Has a man been called when uncircumcised? Then he should not be circumcised.
19 Circumcision is nothing, and vncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandements of God.
Circumcision is nothing; the want of it is nothing; but to keep the commands of God is everything.
20 Let euery man abide in the same vocation wherein he was called.
Let everyone remain in that condition of life in which they were when the call came to them.
21 Art thou called being a seruant? care not for it: but if yet thou maiest be free, vse it rather.
Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let that trouble you. No, even if you are able to gain your freedom, still do your best.
22 For he that is called in the Lord, being. a seruant, is the Lords freeman: likewise also he that is called being free, is Christes seruant.
For the person who was a slave when they were called to the master’s service is the Master’s freedman; so, too, the person who was free when called is Christ’s slave.
23 Yee are bought with a price: be not the seruants of men.
You were bought, and the price was paid. Do not let yourselves become slaves to people.
24 Brethren, let euery man, wherein hee was called, therein abide with God.
Friends, let everyone remain in the condition in which they were when they were called, in close communion with God.
25 Nowe concerning virgines, I haue no commandement of the Lord: but I giue mine aduise, as one that hath obtained mercie of the Lord to be faithfull.
With regard to unmarried women, I have no command from the Master to give you, but I tell you my opinion, and the Master in his mercy has made me worthy to be trusted.
26 I suppose then this to bee good for the present necessitie: I meane that it is good for a man so to be.
I think, then, that, in view of the time of suffering that has now come upon us, what I have already said is best – that a man should remain as he is.
27 Art thou bounde vnto a wife? seeke not to be loosed: art thou loosed from a wife? seeke not a wife.
Are you married to a wife? Then do not seek to be separated. Are you separated from a wife? Then do not seek for a wife.
28 But if thou takest a wife, thou sinnest not: and if a virgine marrie, shee sinneth not: neuerthelesse, such shall haue trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.
Still, if you should marry, that is not wrong; nor, if a young woman marries, is that wrong. But those who marry will have much trouble to bear, and my wish is to spare you.
29 And this I say, brethren, because the time is short, hereafter that both they which haue wiues, be as though they had none:
What I mean, friends, is this – the time is short. Meanwhile, let those who have wives live as if they had none,
30 And they that weepe, as though they wept not: and they that reioyce, as though they reioyced not: and they that bye, as though they possessed not:
those who are weeping as if not weeping, those who are rejoicing as if not rejoicing, those who buy as if not possessing,
31 And they that vse this worlde, as though they vsed it not: for the fashion of this worlde goeth away.
and those who use the good things of the world as using them sparingly; for this world as we see it is passing away.
32 And I would haue you without care. The vnmaried careth for the things of the Lord, howe he may please the Lord.
I want you to be free from anxiety. The unmarried man is anxious about the Master’s cause, desiring to please him;
33 But hee that is maried, careth for the things of the world, how he may please his wife.
while the married man is anxious about worldly matters, desiring to please his wife;
34 There is difference also betweene a virgine and a wife: the vnmaried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy, both in body and in spirite: but shee that is maried, careth for the things of the worlde, howe shee may please her husband.
and so his interests are divided. Again, the unmarried woman, whether she is old or young, is anxious about the Master’s cause, striving to be pure both in body and in spirit, while the married woman is anxious about worldly matters, desiring to please her husband.
35 And this I speake for your owne commoditie, not to tangle you in a snare, but that yee follow that, which is honest, and that yee may cleaue fast vnto the Lord without separation.
I say this for your own benefit, not with any intention of putting a halter round your necks, but in order to secure for the Master seemly and constant devotion, free from all distraction.
36 But if any man thinke that it is vncomely for his virgine, if shee passe the flower of her age, and neede so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them be maried.
If, however, a father thinks that he is not acting fairly by his unmarried daughter, when she is past her youth, and if under these circumstances her marriage ought to take place, he should act as he thinks right. He is doing nothing wrong – let the marriage take place.
37 Neuerthelesse, hee that standeth firme in his heart, that hee hath no neede, but hath power ouer his owne will, and hath so decreed in his heart, that hee will keepe his virgine, hee doeth well.
On the other hand, a father, who has definitely made up his mind, and is under no compulsion, but is free to carry out his own wishes, and who has come to the decision, in his own mind, to keep his unmarried daughter at home will be doing right.
38 So then hee that giueth her to mariage, doeth well, but he that giueth her not to mariage, doeth better.
In short, the one who consents to his daughter’s marriage is doing right, and yet the other will be doing better.
39 The wife is bounde by the Lawe, as long as her husband liueth: but if her husband bee dead, shee is at libertie to marie with whome she will, onely in the Lord.
A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives; but, if the husband should pass to his rest, the widow is free to marry anyone she wishes, provided he is a believer.
40 But shee is more blessed, if she so abide, in my iudgement: and I thinke that I haue also the Spirite of God.
Yet she will be happier if she remains as she is – in my opinion, for I think that I also have the Spirit of God.
