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1 Corinthians 7 :: New International Version (NIV)

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Concerning Married Life

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:1 - Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:2 - But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:3 - The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:4 - The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:5 - Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:6 - I say this as a concession, not as a command.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:7 - I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:8 - Now to the unmarried[fn] and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:9 - But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:10 - To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:11 - But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:12 - To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:13 - And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:14 - For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:15 - But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:16 - How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

Concerning Change of Status

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:17 - Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:18 - Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:19 - Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:20 - Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:21 - Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:22 - For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:23 - You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:24 - Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.

Concerning the Unmarried

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:25 - Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:26 - Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:27 - 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.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:28 - But if you do marry, you have not sinned; 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.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:29 - What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not;
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:30 - 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;
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:31 - those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:32 - I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:33 - But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife—
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:34 - 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. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:35 - I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:36 - 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[fn] and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:37 - 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.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:38 - So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better.[fn]
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:39 - A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.
Unchecked Copy Box1Co 7:40 - In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is—and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
NIV Footnotes
Or widowers
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.
Or if she is getting beyond the usual age for marriage
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.
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.
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.
NIV

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.


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For more information on this translation, see the NIV Preface.

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