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OET (OET-LV) the unmarried is_caring_for the things of_the master, in_order_that she_may_be holy, both in_the body and the spirit, but the woman having_married is_caring_for the things of_the world, how she_may_bring_pleasure to_the husband.
OET (OET-RV) are concerning about things of the master—so that both their bodies and their spirits can be separate from the world—but married women are concerned about worldly affairs—wanting to please their husbands.
In an earlier letter to Paul, the Corinthians had mentioned some problems and asked him some questions. There are no longer any copies of this letter, so we can only guess what they wrote by reading Paul’s answers. Apparently some of the questions the Corinthians had asked were about marriage and sex. In this section Paul discussed these topics. He wrote about sexual intercourse, divorce, marrying again after a person’s husband or wife dies, and never marrying.
From the way Paul talked, it appears that the Corinthians were thinking that if believers want to be holy, they should abstain from sexual relations. The Corinthians were wondering if married people should sleep together, if Christians who were married to non-Christians should divorce them, and if Christians should get married. Paul gave them some wise teaching on each of these topics. In 7:1–16 he addressed Christians who were married. In 7:17–24 he wrote about his general rule for Christians: Remain as you are. In 7:25–38 he taught Christians who were not married. In 7:39–40 he addressed women whose husbands had died.
Other possible section headings include:
Paul gave/wrote instructions about Christian marriage
Paul’s teaching on marriage
Paul addressed the whole group of believers. He wanted them to be “free from concern” (7:32a). Many scholars think that in these verses Paul was giving a reason why he thought it was good to stay unmarried. This paragraph is difficult to interpret.
and his interests are divided.
The outcome of that is this: His thoughts are pulled in two directions/ways.
And so they must think of two things at once.
his interests are divided: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as his interests are divided is more literally “he is divided.”There is a textual problem here. The UBS Greek text and some old Greek manuscripts connect this verse part to the previous verse part so that it is the married man who is “divided.” This is followed by the BSB and most English versions. But other Greek texts connect this verse part to the following verse part and say “Divided also are the wife/woman and the virgin. The unmarried woman is concerned about the Lord’s affairs….” This is followed by the KJV. It is recommended that you follow the reading of the UBS text and the BSB. Paul meant that the believing husband must and should spend part of his time taking care of his wife. Other ways to translate this include:
his attention is divided (GW)
he is pulled in two directions (GNT)
He must think about two things—pleasing his wife and pleasing the Lord. (NCV)
The unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the work of the Lord,
And think about how it is with women believers: If a woman no longer has a husband or has never had a husband, she can be always/constantly thinking about serving the Lord.
In the same way, a woman who is not married now or who has never married spends her time thinking about what she can do as the Lord’s servant.
The same is true with Christian women. Women who are not married or who have never been married occupy themselves serving the Lord.
The unmarried woman or virgin: In the rest of 7:34, Paul discussed the difference in the way a married woman believer and an unmarried girl must spend their lives. A married woman takes care of and spends time with her husband and family, while a single woman is free from those things and can use her time to serve the Lord Jesus in other ways.
There are several ways to understand the distinction between an unmarried woman and a virgin here:
It means that the first one is no longer married and the second one has never been married at all.
The difference is one of age: one is an adult and the other is a girl.
There was a special group of young girls in the Corinthian church who were called “virgins.” Perhaps these girls had said they would never get married.
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) since it has stronger commentary support.
how she can be holy in both body and spirit.
She wants to be holy in her body and in her spirit.
She wants to behave in a pure way, both in the physical and in the spiritual realm.
They want to offer/give their whole beings/lives to God and please him in everything they do and think.
how she can be holy in both body and spirit: The Greek word that the BSB translates as holy refers to being pure or to belonging to the Lord. To be holy in both body and spirit means to be holy in every way: in the way one behaves outwardly (with the body), and in the way one thinks inwardly (in one’s heart/mind/spirit). Another way to translate this is:
her aim is to be dedicated to him [the Lord] in body as in spirit (REB)
In some languages it is not natural to talk about being holy in…body. If this is true of your language, you may want to reword this:
they keep their bodies and minds pure (CEV)
They want to be holy/pure in how they behave outwardly as well as in how they think in their hearts.
They want to be holy/pure in all they do and think.
But the married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world,
But if a woman has a husband, she constantly thinks about her day-to-day life in this world.
On the other hand, a woman with a husband spends her time thinking about the things her family needs to live from day to day.
But married women devote their thoughts/energy to things that have to do with living in this world.
But the married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world: The structure and meaning of this verse part is very similar to that of 7:33a. The difference is that 7:33a is about a man and this one is about a woman. You should probably try to translate this verse part in the same way you translated verse part 7:33a.
how she can please her husband.
She wants to please her husband.
They want to make their husband happy.
how she can please her husband: See the notes on 7:32c and 7:33b. Again, in some languages it may be natural to translate this as a direct quote. For example:
she asks herself, “How can I please my husband?”
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
μεριμνᾷ
˓is˒_caring_for
If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you can express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Paul uses the passive form here to focus on those who are concerned rather than focusing on what makes them concerned. If you must state who does the action, Paul implies that “the unmarried woman or the virgin” ([7:33](../07/33.md)) does it. Alternate translation: [concerns herself with]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / possession
τὰ τοῦ Κυρίου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἡ ἄγαμος μεριμνᾷ τά τοῦ Κυρίου ἵνα ᾖ ἁγία καί τῷ σώματι καί τῷ πνεύματι ἡ δέ γαμήσασα μεριμνᾷ τά τοῦ κόσμου πῶς ἀρέσῃ τῷ ἀνδρί)
Here Paul uses the possessive form to describe things that are directly related to the Lord. This phrase identifies anything that one does that relates to the Lord. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the things of the Lord with a word or phrase that refers to anything related to the Lord. Alternate translation: [everything that concerns the Lord]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / merism
καὶ τῷ σώματι καὶ τῷ πνεύματι
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἡ ἄγαμος μεριμνᾷ τά τοῦ Κυρίου ἵνα ᾖ ἁγία καί τῷ σώματι καί τῷ πνεύματι ἡ δέ γαμήσασα μεριμνᾷ τά τοῦ κόσμου πῶς ἀρέσῃ τῷ ἀνδρί)
Here Paul refers to the body and the spirit as a way to refer to everything that a person is. The body is the outward part of the person, while the spirit is in the inward part of the person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express both in the body and in the spirit with a word or phrase that emphasizes that the entire person is in view. Alternate translation: [in body and soul] or [in every part]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations
ἡ & γαμήσασα
¬the & ˓having˒_married
Here, the one having been married is feminine. If this is not clear for your readers, you could clarify that this phrase speaks about women. Alternate translation: [the woman who is married]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
(Occurrence 2) μεριμνᾷ
˓is˒_caring_for
If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you can express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Paul uses the passive form here to focus on those who are concerned rather than focusing on what makes them concerned. If you must state who does the action, Paul implies that the one having been married does it. Alternate translation: [concerns herself with]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / possession
τὰ τοῦ κόσμου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἡ ἄγαμος μεριμνᾷ τά τοῦ Κυρίου ἵνα ᾖ ἁγία καί τῷ σώματι καί τῷ πνεύματι ἡ δέ γαμήσασα μεριμνᾷ τά τοῦ κόσμου πῶς ἀρέσῃ τῷ ἀνδρί)
Here Paul uses the possessive form to describe things that are directly related to the world. This phrase identifies anything that one does that relates to the world. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the things of the world with a word or phrase that refers to anything related to the world. Alternate translation: [many things that relate to the world]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun
τῷ ἀνδρί
˱in˲_the the ˱to˲_her husband
Here Paul refers to the husband, but he specifically has in mind the husband of the the one having been married already mentioned. If your language would not use this form to refer to the woman’s husband, you could express the idea more clearly. Alternate translation: [her husband]
OET (OET-LV) the unmarried is_caring_for the things of_the master, in_order_that she_may_be holy, both in_the body and the spirit, but the woman having_married is_caring_for the things of_the world, how she_may_bring_pleasure to_the husband.
OET (OET-RV) are concerning about things of the master—so that both their bodies and their spirits can be separate from the world—but married women are concerned about worldly affairs—wanting to please their husbands.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.