The Unmarried and the Widowed

25 Now concerning virgins, I do not have a command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who has been shown mercy by the Lord to be trustworthy. 26 I think it is good then, on account of the present distress, for a man to remain as he is. 27 Are yoʋ pledged to marry a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are yoʋ free from such a commitment? Do not seek a wife. 28 But even if yoʋ do marry, yoʋ have not sinned. And if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will have tribulation in the flesh, and I am trying to spare you. 29 But I say this, brothers: The time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as though they had none, 30 and those who weep as though they were not weeping, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they did not possess, 31 and those who use [fn]this world as though they were not making full use of it. For the form of this world is passing away.

32 But I want you to be free from concern. The unmarried man is concerned about the affairs of the Lord, how he [fn]will please the Lord. 33 But the married man is concerned about the affairs of the world, how he [fn]will please his [fn]wife. 34 There is a difference between [fn]a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman is concerned about the affairs of the Lord, how she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But the married woman is concerned about the affairs of the world, how she [fn]will please her husband. 35 I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote proper behavior and devotion to the Lord without distraction.

36 Now if any man thinks that he is acting improperly toward his virgin daughter by not letting her marry, if she is past the bloom of her youth and it seems necessary to do so, he should do what he wants. He is not sinning by letting her get married. 37 But the man who stands firm in his heart, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and has determined in his heart to keep his virgin daughter from marrying, [fn]does well. 38 So then, he who gives [fn]her in marriage does well, but he who does not give her in marriage [fn]does better.

39 A wife is bound [fn]by the law to her husband for as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to anyone she wishes, but only in the Lord. 40 Yet in my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is. [fn]And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.