Parallel Bible results for "1 corinthians 7"

1 Corinthians 7

The Bible in Basic English BBE

1 Now, as to the things in your letter to me: It is good for a man to have nothing to do with a woman.

2 But because of the desires of the flesh, let every man have his wife, and every woman her husband.

3 Let the husband give to the wife what is right; and let the wife do the same to the husband.

4 The wife has not power over her body, but the husband; and in the same way the husband has not power over his body, but the wife.

5 Do not keep back from one another what is right, but only for a short time, and by agreement, so that you may give yourselves to prayer, and come together again; so that Satan may not get the better of you through your loss of self-control.

6 But this I say as my opinion, and not as an order of the Lord.

7 It is my desire that all men might be even as I am. But every man has the power of his special way of life given him by God, one in this way and one in that.

8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows, It is good for them to be even as I am.

9 But if they have not self-control let them get married; for married life is better than the burning of desire.

10 But to the married I give orders, though not I but the Lord, that the wife may not go away from her husband

11 (Or if she goes away from him, let her keep unmarried, or be united to her husband again); and that the husband may not go away from his wife.

12 But to the rest I say, and not the Lord; If a brother has a wife who is not a Christian, and it is her desire to go on living with him, let him not go away from her.

13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a Christian, and it is his desire to go on living with her, let her not go away from her husband.

14 For the husband who has not faith is made holy through his Christian wife, and the wife who is not a Christian is made holy through the brother: if not, your children would be unholy, but now are they holy.

15 But if the one who is not a Christian has a desire to go away, let it be so: the brother or the sister in such a position is not forced to do one thing or the other: but it is God's pleasure that we may be at peace with one another.

16 For how may you be certain, O wife, that you will not be the cause of salvation to your husband? or you, O husband, that you may not do the same for your wife?

17 Only, as the Lord has given to a man, and as is the purpose of God for him, so let him go on living. And these are my orders for all the churches.

18 If any man who is a Christian has had circumcision, let him keep so; and if any man who is a Christian has not had circumcision, let him make no change.

19 Circumcision is nothing, and its opposite is nothing, but only doing the orders of God is of value.

20 Let every man keep the position in which he has been placed by God.

21 If you were a servant when you became a Christian, let it not be a grief to you; but if you have a chance to become free, make use of it.

22 For he who was a servant when he became a Christian is the Lord's free man; and he who was free when he became a Christian is the Lord's servant.

23 It is the Lord who has made payment for you: be not servants of men.

24 My brothers, let every man keep in that condition which is the purpose of God for him.

25 Now about virgins I have no orders from the Lord: but I give my opinion as one to whom the Lord has given mercy to be true to him.

26 In my opinion then, because of the present trouble, it is good for a man to keep as he is.

27 If you are married to a wife, make no attempt to get free from her: if you are free from a wife, do not take a wife.

28 If you get married it is not a sin; and if an unmarried woman gets married it is not a sin. But those who do so will have trouble in the flesh. But I will not be hard on you.

29 But I say this, my brothers, the time is short; and from now it will be wise for those who have wives to be as if they had them not;

30 And for those who are in sorrow, to give no signs of it; and for those who are glad, to give no signs of joy; and for those who are getting property, to be as if they had nothing;

31 And for those who make use of the world, not to be using it fully; for this world's way of life will quickly come to an end.

32 But it is my desire for you to be free from cares. The unmarried man gives his mind to the things of the Lord, how he may give pleasure to the Lord:

33 But the married man gives his attention to the things of this world, how he may give pleasure to his wife.

34 And the wife is not the same as the virgin. The virgin gives her mind to the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in body and in spirit: but the married woman takes thought for the things of the world, how she may give pleasure to her husband.

35 Now I say this for your profit; not to make things hard for you, but because of what is right, and so that you may be able to give all your attention to the things of the Lord.

36 But if, in any man's opinion, he is not doing what is right for his virgin, if she is past her best years, and there is need for it, let him do what seems right to him; it is no sin; let them be married.

37 But the man who is strong in mind and purpose, who is not forced but has control over his desires, does well if he comes to the decision to keep her a virgin.

38 So then, he who gets married to his virgin does well, and he who keeps her unmarried does better.

39 It is right for a wife to be with her husband as long as he is living; but when her husband is dead, she is free to be married to another; but only to a Christian.

40 But it will be better for her to keep as she is, in my opinion: and it seems to me that I have the Spirit of God.

Good News Translation GNT

1 Now, to deal with the matters you wrote about. A man does well not to marry.

2 But because there is so much immorality, every man should have his own wife, and every woman should have her own husband.

3 A man should fulfill his duty as a husband, and a woman should fulfill her duty as a wife, and each should satisfy the other's needs.

4 A wife is not the master of her own body, but her husband is; in the same way a husband is not the master of his own body, but his wife is.

5 Do not deny yourselves to each other, unless you first agree to do so for a while in order to spend your time in prayer; but then resume normal marital relations. In this way you will be kept from giving in to Satan's temptation because of your lack of self-control.

6 I tell you this not as an order, but simply as a permission.

7 Actually I would prefer that all of you were as I am; but each one has a special gift from God, one person this gift, another one that gift.

8 Now, to the unmarried and to the widows I say that it would be better for you to continue to live alone as I do.

9 But if you cannot restrain your desires, go ahead and marry - it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

10 For married people I have a command which is not my own but the Lord's: a wife must not leave her husband;

11 but if she does, she must remain single or else be reconciled to her husband; and a husband must not divorce his wife.

12 To the others I say (I, myself, not the Lord): if a Christian man has a wife who is an unbeliever and she agrees to go on living with him, he must not divorce her.

13 And if a Christian woman is married to a man who is an unbeliever and he agrees to go on living with her, she must not divorce him.

14 For the unbelieving husband is made acceptable to God by being united to his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made acceptable to God by being united to her Christian husband. If this were not so, their children would be like pagan children; but as it is, they are acceptable to God.

15 However, if the one who is not a believer wishes to leave the Christian partner, let it be so. In such cases the Christian partner, whether husband or wife, is free to act. God has called you to live in peace.

16 How can you be sure, Christian wife, that you will not save your husband? Or how can you be sure, Christian husband, that you will not save your wife?

17 Each of you should go on living according to the Lord's gift to you, and as you were when God called you. This is the rule I teach in all the churches.

18 If a circumcised man has accepted God's call, he should not try to remove the marks of circumcision; if an uncircumcised man has accepted God's call, he should not get circumcised.

19 For whether or not a man is circumcised means nothing; what matters is to obey God's commandments.

20 Each of you should remain as you were when you accepted God's call.

21 Were you a slave when God called you? Well, never mind; but if you have a chance to become free, use it.

22 For a slave who has been called by the Lord is the Lord's free person; in the same way a free person who has been called by Christ is his slave.

23 God bought you for a price; so do not become slaves of people.

24 My friends, each of you should remain in fellowship with God in the same condition that you were when you were called.

25 Now, concerning what you wrote about unmarried people: I do not have a command from the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord's mercy is worthy of trust.

26 Considering the present distress, I think it is better for a man to stay as he is.

27 Do you have a wife? Then don't try to get rid of her. Are you unmarried? Then don't look for a wife.

28 But if you do marry, you haven't committed a sin; and if an unmarried woman marries, she hasn't committed a sin. But I would rather spare you the everyday troubles that married people will have.

29 What I mean, my friends, is this: there is not much time left, and from now on married people should live as though they were not married;

30 those who weep, as though they were not sad; those who laugh, as though they were not happy; those who buy, as though they did not own what they bought;

31 those who deal in material goods, as though they were not fully occupied with them. For this world, as it is now, will not last much longer.

32 I would like you to be free from worry. An unmarried man concerns himself with the Lord's work, because he is trying to please the Lord.

33 But a married man concerns himself with worldly matters, because he wants to please his wife;

34 and so he is pulled in two directions. An unmarried woman or a virgin concerns herself with the Lord's work, because she wants to be dedicated both in body and spirit; but a married woman concerns herself with worldly matters, because she wants to please her husband.

35 I am saying this because I want to help you. I am not trying to put restrictions on you. Instead, I want you to do what is right and proper, and to give yourselves completely to the Lord's service without any reservation.

36 In the case of an engaged couple who have decided not to marry: if the man feels that he is not acting properly toward the young woman and if his passions are too strong and he feels that they ought to marry, then they should get married, as he wants to. There is no sin in this.

37 But if a man, without being forced to do so, has firmly made up his mind not to marry, and if he has his will under complete control and has already decided in his own mind what to do - then he does well not to marry the young woman.

38 So the man who marries does well, but the one who doesn't marry does even better.

39 A married woman is not free as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, then she is free to be married to any man she wishes, but only if he is a Christian.

40 She will be happier, however, if she stays as she is. That is my opinion, and I think that I too have God's Spirit.