The Unmarried and Widowed

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. 26 Because of the present[fn] crisis, I think [it] is good for a man to remain as [he is]. 27 Are you committed to a wife? {Do} not seek to be released. Are you free of [commitment]? {Do} not look for a wife. 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 troubles in [this] life, and I [want to] spare you [this].

29 [What] I am saying, brothers, [is] that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; 30 those who weep, as if they [did not]; those who are joyful, as if they were not; those who make a purchase, as if they had nothing; 31 and those who use the things of [this] world, as if not dependent on them. For this world [in its] present form is passing away.

32 I want you to be free from concern. The unmarried man is concerned about the [work] of the Lord, how he can please the Lord. 33 But the married man is concerned about the [affairs] of this world, how he can please [his] wife, 34 and [his interests] are divided. The unmarried woman [or] virgin is concerned about the [work] of the Lord, how she can be holy in both body and spirit. But the married woman is concerned about the [affairs] of this world, how she can please [her] husband.

35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but in order to promote proper decorum and undivided devotion to the Lord.

36 However, if someone thinks he is acting inappropriately toward his betrothed, [and] if she is beyond [her] youth and [they] ought [to marry],[fn] let him do as he wishes; he is not sinning; they should get married. 37 But the [man who] [is] firmly established in his heart [and] under no constraint, with control over [his] will and resolve in [his] heart [not to marry] the virgin,[fn] he will do well.

38 So then he who [marries] the virgin does well, but he who {does} not marry [her] does even better.

39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if [her] husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, as long as [he] belongs to [the] Lord.[fn] 40 In my judgment, however, she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have [the] Spirit of God.