1 Corinthians 7:20-40

Easy-to-Read Version

²⁰ Each one of you should stay the way you were when God chose you. ²¹ If you were a slave when God chose you, don’t let that bother you. But if you can be free, then do it. ²² If you were a slave when the Lord chose you, you are now free in the Lord. You belong to the Lord. In the same way, if you were free when you were chosen, you are now Christ’s slave. ²³ God paid a high price for you, so don’t be slaves to anyone else. ²⁴ Brothers and sisters, in your new life with God, each one of you should continue the way you were when God chose you.

Questions About Getting Married

²⁵ Now I write about people who are not married.^[a] I have no command from the Lord about this, but I give my opinion. And I can be trusted, because the Lord has given me mercy. ²⁶ This is a time of trouble. So I think it is good for you to stay the way you are. ²⁷ If you have a wife, don’t try to get free from her. If you are not married, don’t try to find a wife. ²⁸ But if you decide to marry, that is not a sin. And it is not a sin for a girl who has never married to get married. But those who marry will have trouble in this life, and I want you to be free from this trouble.

²⁹ Brothers and sisters, this is what I mean: We don’t have much time left. So starting now, those who have wives should be the same as those who don’t. ³⁰ It should not be important whether you are sad or whether you are happy. If you buy something, it should not matter to you that you own it. ³¹ You should use the things of the world without letting them become important to you. This is how you should live, because this world, the way it is now, will soon be gone.

³² I want you to be free from worry. A man who is not married is busy with the Lord’s work. He is trying to please the Lord. ³³ But a man who is married is busy with things of the world. He is trying to please his wife. ³⁴ He must think about two things—pleasing his wife and pleasing the Lord. A woman who is not married or a girl who has never married is busy with the Lord’s work. She wants to give herself fully—body and spirit—to the Lord. But a married woman is busy with things of the world. She is trying to please her husband. ³⁵ I am saying this to help you. I am not trying to limit you, but I want you to live in the right way. And I want you to give yourselves fully to the Lord without giving your time to other things.

³⁶ A man might think that he is not doing the right thing with his fiancée. She might be almost past the best age to marry.^[b] So he might feel that he should marry her. He should do what he wants. It is no sin for them to get married. ³⁷ But another man might be more sure in his mind. There may be no need for marriage, so he is free to do what he wants. If he has decided in his own heart not to marry his fiancée, he is doing the right thing. ³⁸ So the man who marries his fiancée does right, and the man who does not marry does better.

³⁹ A woman should stay with her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, the woman is free to marry any man she wants, but he should belong to the Lord. ⁴⁰ The woman is happier if she does not marry again. This is my opinion, and I believe that I have God’s Spirit.