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1 Corinthians 7:20-40
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
1 Corinthians 7:20-40
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
20 Let each of you remain in the condition in which you were called.(A)
21 Were you a slave when called? Do not be concerned about it. Even if you can gain your freedom, make the most of it.[a] 22 For whoever was called in the Lord as a slave is a freed person belonging to the Lord, just as whoever was free when called is a slave belonging to Christ.(B) 23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of humans.(C) 24 In whatever condition you were called, brothers and sisters, there remain with God.
The Unmarried and the Widows
25 Now concerning virgins, I have no command of the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.(D) 26 I think that, in view of the impending[b] crisis,[c] it is good for you to remain as you are.(E) 27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But if you marry, you do not sin, and if a virgin marries, she does not sin. Yet those who marry will experience distress in the flesh, and I would spare you that. 29 I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none,(F) 30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, 31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.(G)
32 I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord,(H) 33 but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin are anxious about the affairs of the Lord, so that they may be holy in body and spirit, but the married woman is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please her husband.(I) 35 I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord.
36 If anyone thinks that he is behaving indecently toward his fiancée,[d] if his passions are strong and so it has to be, let him marry as he wishes; it is no sin. Let them marry. 37 But if someone stands firm in his resolve, being under no necessity but having his own desire under control, and has determined in his own mind to keep her as his fiancée,[e] he will do well. 38 So then, he who marries his fiancée[f] does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do better.
39 A wife is bound as long as her husband lives. But if the husband dies,[g] she is free to marry anyone she wishes, only in the Lord.(J) 40 But in my opinion she is more blessed if she remains as she is. And I think that I, too, have the Spirit of God.
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1 Corinthians 7:20-40
New International Version
1 Corinthians 7:20-40
New International Version
20 Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.(A)
21 Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. 22 For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person;(B) similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave.(C) 23 You were bought at a price;(D) do not become slaves of human beings. 24 Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.(E)
Concerning the Unmarried
25 Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord,(F) but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy(G) is trustworthy. 26 Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is.(H) 27 Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife.(I) 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned;(J) and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.
29 What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short.(K) From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.(L)
32 I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs(M)—how he can please the Lord. 33 But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— 34 and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit.(N) But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided(O) devotion to the Lord.
36 If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong[a] and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning.(P) They should get married. 37 But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing. 38 So then, he who marries the virgin does right,(Q) but he who does not marry her does better.[b]
39 A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives.(R) But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.(S) 40 In my judgment,(T) she is happier if she stays as she is—and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 7:36 Or if she is getting beyond the usual age for marriage
- 1 Corinthians 7:38 Or 36 If anyone thinks he is not treating his daughter properly, and if she is getting along in years (or if her passions are too strong), and he feels she ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. He should let her get married. 37 But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind to keep the virgin unmarried—this man also does the right thing. 38 So then, he who gives his virgin in marriage does right, but he who does not give her in marriage does better.
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