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OET (OET-LV) But more_blessed she_is, if thus she_may_remain, according_to the my opinion, and am_supposing also_I, the_spirit of_god to_be_having.
OET (OET-RV) However, in my opinion, she’d be happier if she didn’t marry again, and I think it’s God’s spirit that wants me to say that.
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
Some women in the Corinthian church were widows. Apparently the Corinthians had asked Paul whether they should remarry. Some of the believers seem to have thought that these widows could be more holy and please God more if they stayed unmarried. Paul said that when a woman’s husband dies, that breaks the marriage tie, and in God’s eyes it is all right for her to marry someone else. But it is also all right if she remains unmarried, and in Paul’s opinion, she may be happier that way.
In my judgment, however,
But in my opinion,
However, here is what I think is good for her to do:
In my judgment, however: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as however introduces a contrast with what Paul said in the previous verse about how a widow is free to marry after her husband dies. Here he says that he thinks that a widow will be happier if she does not marry again. Some versions do not translate this conjunction. Express the contrast in a natural way in your language.
The phrase In my judgment has the same meaning as the phrase “I give a judgment” in 7:25c. See the note on 7:25c. Another way to translate this is:
This is my opinion (NCV)
she is happier if she remains as she is.
she will be happier if she stays unmarried.
her life will be better if she does not marry again.
she is happier if she remains as she is: The Greek word that the BSB translates as happier can also be translated as “more blessed.” A widow’s life may in some ways be easier or less stressful if she decides not to remarry. She may also have more time and energy to serve the Lord. Paul may have been thinking of “the present crisis” he mentioned in 7:26a, and of the troubles he mentioned in 7:38e. Here is another way to translate this:
it would be better for her to stay single (NLT)
And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
And I think that I too have God’s Spirit to help/guide me.
And I say this with the help of God’s Spirit, who is with/in me as well as with/in you.
I think that I too have the Spirit of God: Apparently there were some people in the Corinthian church who said that the Holy Spirit was speaking through them. Paul here claimed that he, as well as they, had God’s Spirit to help him. God’s Spirit helped him to know how to answer the Corinthians’ questions and what to tell them about the problems they were having.
In some languages it may be natural to reorder these verse parts in order to make clear the implication that Paul’s opinion or judgment came from the Spirit of God. For example:
40bShe will be happier, however, if she stays as she is. 40aThat is my opinion, 40cand I think that I too have God’s Spirit. (GNT)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
κατὰ τὴν ἐμὴν γνώμην
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: μακαριωτέρα Δέ ἐστίν ἐάν οὕτως μείνῃ κατά τήν ἐμήν γνώμην δοκῶ δέ κἀγώ Πνεῦμα Θεοῦ ἔχειν)
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea behind judgment, you can express the idea by using a verb such as “judge.” Alternate translation: [I judge that]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
οὕτως μείνῃ
thus ˱she˲_˓may˒_remain
Here Paul is referring back to the wife from the previous verse ([7:39](../07/39.md)) whose husband had died. By remain as she is, Paul means “remain unmarried after her husband died.” If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate remain as she is by clarifying that the wife from the previous verse is in view. Alternate translation: [she remains unmarried] or [she does not marry again]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
κἀγὼ, Πνεῦμα Θεοῦ ἔχειν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: μακαριωτέρα Δέ ἐστίν ἐάν οὕτως μείνῃ κατά τήν ἐμήν γνώμην δοκῶ δέ κἀγώ Πνεῦμα Θεοῦ ἔχειν)
This could mean that: (1) Paul thinks his judgment is backed up by the Spirit of God. Alternate translation: [I have the Spirit of God supporting my judgment] (2) Paul wishes to say that he has the Spirit of God as much as the Corinthians do. Alternate translation: [I also, not just you, have the Spirit of God]
OET (OET-LV) But more_blessed she_is, if thus she_may_remain, according_to the my opinion, and am_supposing also_I, the_spirit of_god to_be_having.
OET (OET-RV) However, in my opinion, she’d be happier if she didn’t marry again, and I think it’s God’s spirit that wants me to say that.
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.