The Unmarried and Widowed

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, vvv you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries, vvv 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 vvv they [did not]; those who are joyful, as if vvv they were not; those who make a purchase, as if vvv they had nothing; 31 and those who use the things of this world, as if vvv 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 will please[fn] the Lord. 33 But the married man is concerned about the [affairs] of this world, how he will please [his] wife. 34 And there is a difference between the wife and the virgin. The unmarried woman is concerned about the [work] of the Lord,[fn] how she can be holy in both body and spirit. But the married woman is concerned about the [affairs] of this world, how she will 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[fn] and [they] ought vvv [to marry],[fn] let him do as he wishes; vvv 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 [her][fn] does well, but he who {does} not marry [her][fn] does even better.

39 

A wife is bound by law[fn] 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. 8