About Marriage

7 ¹Now [I will discuss] the things you wrote to me about. It is good for a man not to marry. ²But sexual sin is a danger. So each man should have his own wife. And each woman should have her own husband. ³The husband should give his wife all that she should have as his wife. And the wife should give her husband all that he should have as her husband. ⁴The wife does not have power over her own body. Her husband has the power over her body. And the husband does not have power over his own body. His wife has the power over his body. ⁵Don't refuse to give your bodies to each other. But you might both agree to stay away [from sex] for a time. You might do this so that you can give your time to prayer. Then come together again. This is so that Satan (the Devil) cannot tempt you in your weakness. ⁶I say this to give you permission [to be separated for a time]. It is not a command. ⁷I wish all people were like me. But each person has his own gift from God. One person has one gift, another person has another gift. ⁸Now for the people who are not married and for the widows* I say this: It is good for them to stay single like me. ⁹But if they cannot control their bodies, then they should marry. It is better to marry than to burn [with sexual desire]. ¹⁰Now I give this command for the married people. (The command is not from me; it is from the Lord.) A wife must not leave her husband. ¹¹But if a wife leaves her husband she must not marry again. Or she should go back together with her husband. Also the husband must not divorce his wife. ¹²For all the other people I say this (I am saying these things, not the Lord): A brother [in Christ] might have a wife who is not a believer. If she will live with him, then he must not divorce her. ¹³And a woman might have a husband who is not a believer. If he will live with her, then she must not divorce him. ¹⁴The husband who is not a believer is made holy through his [believing] wife. And the wife who is not a believer is made holy through her [believing] husband. If this were not true, then your children would not be clean. But now your children are holy. ¹⁵But if the person who is not a believer decides to leave, let that person leave. When this happens, the brother or sister [in Christ] is free. God called us to a life of peace. ¹⁶Wives, maybe you will save your husband; and husbands, maybe you will save your wife. You don't know now what will happen later.

Live as God Called You

¹⁷But each person should continue to live the way God has given him to live--the way you were when God called you. This is a rule I make in all the churches. ¹⁸If a man was already circumcised* when he was called, then he should not change his circumcision. If a man was without circumcision when he was called, then he should not be circumcised. ¹⁹It is not important if a person is circumcised or not circumcised. The important thing is obeying God's commands. ²⁰Each person should stay the way he was when God called him. ²¹If you were a slave when God called you, don't let that bother you. But if you can be free, then become free. ²²The person who was a slave when the Lord called him is free in the Lord. That person belongs to the Lord. In the same way, the person who was free when he was called is now Christ's slave. ²³You people were bought at a price. So don't become slaves of men. ²⁴Brothers [and sisters], in your new life with God each one of you should continue the way you were when you were called.

widows A widow is a woman whose husband has died. circumcised, circumcision To have the foreskin cut off. This was done to every Jewish baby boy. It was a mark of the agreement God made with Abraham (Gen. 17:9-14).