1 Corinthians 7:32-40 ▼

32 I want you to be without concerns. The unmarried man is concerned about the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord.

33 But the married man is concerned about the things of the world—how he may please his wife—

34 and his interests are divided. The unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But the married woman is concerned about the things of the world—how she may please her husband.

35 I am saying this for your own benefit, not to put a restraint on you, but to promote what is proper and so that you may be devoted to the Lord without distraction.

36 If any man thinks he is acting improperly toward the virgin he is engaged to, if she is getting beyond the usual age for marriage, and he feels he should marry—he can do what he wants. He is not sinning; they can get married.

37 But he who stands firm in his heart (who is under no compulsion, but has control over his own will ) and has decided in his heart to keep her as his fiancee, will do well.

38 So, then, he who marries his fiancee does well, but he who does not marry will do better.

39 A wife is bound as long as her husband is living. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to anyone she wants—only in the Lord.

40 But she is happier if she remains as she is, in my opinion. And I think that I also have the Spirit of God.